Light My Candle
by divine-secrets
Summary: Akemi has known Prince Iroh most of her life, but he sees her as nothing more than his best friend's little sister. After spending one summer night together, it might all change.
1. A Handsome Stranger?

Osamu always did know how to make me feel left out, it had been going on since I could remember. I often found myself quietly sitting by the pond, while my brother and his friend both tried to one up each other. I bet if they knew I could firebend too, they would let me take part in their little game. But back then I was just a little girl. Hopeless and defenseless. I thought as the years went by this would all change, boy was I wrong. I was dragged off to finishing school while the boys enlisted in the United the time I saw either my brother or his friend again, I was sixteen years old. Still four years too young to partake in their activities.

That summer I was determined to change their views of me. I could really care less if what my brother thought of me, but I could not let someone else see me as a little weakling. Summer nights were often spent on the Ember Island. My family had managed to get a house there, thanks to my father's political status. Most of my life, I had lived in luxury, never really having to worry about missing a meal or not having a warm, comfy bed at night. So when the boys returned home, we were all off to our destination. The first few days there were spent on the beach with my family, the nights were like any other for me. While my brother and his friend went off to find some trouble to get into.

One night I decided I had enough of staying inside. After my parents went to sleep and my brother left the house, I followed suit. My best friend Kimiko met me down by the beach. She towered over me as I approached her, she had a growth spurt the previous year, while I stayed the same height for the second consecutive year in a row.

"What's your brother's hurry?" Kimiko asked nodding over her shoulder.

I raised my eyebrow at her, not exactly sure what she was referring to. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just saw him running by, he almost knocked me over too."

"I don't know," I answered with a shrug. "Do you really think he'd tell me what he was up to?"

Kimi slightly shook her head, an apologetic smile on her face. "I suppose not. But, you won't won't believe what happened this evening."

"You grew three more inches?" I asked, looking up at her with a smug look on my face.

"Haha, you should do stand up." She rolled her eyes at me, then pointed to her right. "We're going to a party. I was sitting on the beach after dinner, when a handsome stranger came my way. He invited me to a bonfire and told me to bring anyone I'd like. I couldn't say no."

"Ooh, a handsome stranger, huh? You can definitely count me in, Kimi."

Kimiko looked like she couldn't be happier at that moment and she grabbed my arm. We walked along the shore for about ten minutes before I could see the fire. There were teens all over the place; in the water, on the sand, by the rocks. I wondered how I had never realized how many kids my ages inhabited the island this time of year. Kimiko was practically jumping with excitement the closer we got.

"Oh, there he is!" she exclaimed in my ear, then pointed to the handsome young man sitting in front of the fire.

I smiled at then gave her a gentle shove. "If I were you, I'd go take the seat right next to him before someone else does."

"But I don't want to just leave you alone," Kimiko's kind eyes glanced over at me, but I could tell that she was dying to go make a move of the guy.

"I want you to go over there and charm the hell out of him." I gave her another shove, a little more forced this time and she laughed. She managed one small wave before journeying over to him. The thing I saw was his smile as she took her seat next to him. I was too self conscious to stand around by myself so I moved to the rocks. My eyes lingered on them before realizing they lead to a pathway. Instantly I recognized the place and my feet started to move uphill. From the looks of it, the summer home was deserted, as it was every year. The farther I moved from the bonfire, the darker my surroundings became. I liked it that way, I didn't want anyone from the party to spot me walking to the house.

When I stepped on the first step of the front porch, I had to grab on to the railing. The place was old and I knew I could easily fall down. I managed to make it to the front door safely. The door was ajar and I pushed it open, peeking inside. No one had lived there in more than 60 years, the door being open wasn't a big surprise to me. Kids often spent some private times up there.

I moved from hall to hall, not really having a destination in mind. My mind was just too busy taking it all in. It wasn't everyday that a girl ventured in the abandoned royal summer home. Often times I had imagined myself being inside the place, but never alone. As I moved from the sitting room to the backside of the house, the voices and laughter of the party goers became nothing more than murmurs to me. I stopped myself in front of a mirror, but I was too afraid too look into it. Instead, I busied myself with the table right below it. The remaining of a burnt picture lay in ashes beneath a candle. I picked the candle up, knowing I wouldn't go much further in the darkness. Yeah, I was afraid, sue me.

Just as I held my fingers out to light it, I heard the footsteps coming from the end of the hall. I didn't know whether to approach the noise or get the hell out of the house. Then I thought it could have just been an animal making the noise which, of course, didn't make me feel any better. I could turn back now, but that would take me a while to figure out which hallway to take or I could get out from the back porch. The candle, still unlit, was in a tight grip. My feet moved across the floor, trying to be as quiet as I could possibly make them. The footsteps had stopped by then. I managed to get to the back porch when I heard them again. This time they were right behind me. I closed my eyes, praying to the spirits that... well, that it wasn't a spirit.

"Akemi? What are you doing here?"

My eyes opened again when my brain registered the voice. It was all too familiar. I turned around, holding the candle to my chest. "Iroh?"

Iroh looked as confused as I must have looked embarrassed. He had caught me in the act. I had been roaming around his family's home. His eyes looked right at me then lowered to my chest. Normally, I would have taken this as a good sign. I mean, a guy staring at my chest couldn't be a bad sign right? But I knew Iroh wouldn't look at his best friend's little sister like that. I looked down at my chest as well. My cheeks began to flush when I realized my hands were pressing the candle against my shirt.

"Oh," I exclaimed, removing my hand from my chest and extended it over to him, offering him the candle. "I wasn't... I mean, this belongs to your family... I was going to put it back."


	2. In The Moonlight

Iroh didn't move for a minute, but kept his eyes on the candle. He shook his head a few moments later. "You can keep it."

"I was just- it's just that the place was dark." I stopped myself before I could incriminate myself any longer. He had to know that I wouldn't steal from the place, right? I wasn't some common theif or anything like the sort.

"Are you here to meet someone?" Iroh broke the awkward silence with one of the most awkward subjects he possibly could in my opinion. I knew what he was getting at now. He probably thought I was some sleazy teenager here to get down and dirty with some strange guy.

"No, I'm not that kind of girl." I turned away from him to face the palm trees instead. "I guess you'd get the impression that being Osamu's sister, I'd be just like him."

"I wasn't assuming anything, it was just a question." I couldn't see his face, but the tone of his voice had a hint of amusement to it.

"Who are you here to meet?" If he could innocently ask, so could I. And unlike him, I was assuming that he was indeed there to meet someone.

"I'm not that kind of guy," he leaned against the railing too, looking out at the trees. "This is my family's home. That and I couldn't stay one more minute down at that party. I doubt Osamu has noticed I'm gone. Last time I spotted him, he had a girl stuck to his face."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. I was right, my brother was a man-whore. The thought of anyone being stupid enough to fall for his lame pickup lines was too much to handle. "You don't get to see a lot of action in training, do you?"

"Action.." Iroh must have known what I meant by 'action' but he didn't let on more than that.

"It's okay to admit that you both are the same when it comes to females."

"I'm not like your brother. Besides, there aren't many young women enlisting. I'm not about to make a move on a superior either."

"So why aren't you down there with a girl stuck to your face as well?" I looked back at him, honestly curious as to why the crowned prince wasn't surrounded by Ember Island's finest. Iroh wouldn't look at me so I nudged him with my elbow. "It was kidding. I don't think you're anything like my brother."

"That's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say," he smiled, his attention finally on me. I was about to protest that he had never given me one chance to say something nice to him. He was always too eager to get rid of me whenever he and my brother went off to do whatever they did, even as kids.

"I've changed since you two joined the Forces, I'm very mature now." I tried to keep the straight face, but it wasn't easy. They had only been gone for two years and no one could classify me as mature. In fact, I knew that I was childish and I didn't have the best temper.

"I can see that." Iroh's gaze lowered again, just for a brief second before looking back in to my eyes.

I froze right then and there. I couldn't have just imagined that, could I? It was a fraction of a second, but he had let himself check me out. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. I mean, he was Prince Iroh, for goodness sake! He was also my brother's best friend. Nothing could happen and I knew that. Still, my heart jumped about in my chest.

The conversation changed again as we both sat down and watched the breeze against the palm trees. We talked about life at home, I caught him up with what everyone had been doing for the past two years. He, in turn, talked about the training he and Osamu had to go through every day. I watched him as he talked about it. I'd known Iroh most of my life and I had never seen him so passionate about something like this. The way his eyes widened every time he spoke of all the good things this could bring to our nation, I was mesmerized by them.

"Some day, I'm going to do something great. I know I'm capable of it."

I smiled, knowing he could do whatever he set his sights on. I wish I could be like him, but I wasn't like him at all. I had no passion for anything and I doubted I would find something soon. I closed my eyes as the breeze get stronger, I had to take a moment to enjoy how good it felt on my face. When I opened them, I realized Iroh had stopped talking. He was looking at me once again. The smile on his face was faint but it was there.

"What?" I asked, feeling my cheeks beginning to burn again.

Iroh simply shook his head at me, not answering my question. Was there something on my face. I reached up with one hand, feeling my warm cheeks. Iroh leaned over, taking a hold of my other hand. Our hands touched for a minute before he grabbed the candle. I wasn't aware that I had been holding on to it for this long. His body was closer to mine and I slightly turned sideways. With our body's turning to each other, the candle was the only thing separating us.

I looked up at him, my head slightly tilted to the side. Iroh's eyes searched for something in my eyes, his eyebrows furrowed for a minute before he leaned down closer. I wanted to move in, I wanted to break the distance between us, but I didn't want to make a fool of myself.

Iroh brought his fingers up to the tip of the candle and set it ablaze. The warmth of the flame was comforting to me, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt Iroh's hand lightly touch my cheek before feeling his warm lips brushing against mine. My heart was literally beating out of my chest by now. Nothing could ruin this.

"IROH!" The distant voice of Osamu made me jump back at bit. Iroh and I both felt the melted wax from the handle hit our skin at the same time and he pulled away. He quickly stood up, looking back in to the house. Osamu had to be in getting closer because his calls got louder and louder. I stood up as well, with the now extinguished candle in my hand.


	3. Out My Window

My heart was beating out of my chest, I couldn't control it. And as soon as Osamu was in view, my face flushed. Of course he hadn't seen anything of what had happened less than a minute before, but I felt embarrassed either way. Iroh, however, didn't look suspicious at all. He directly looked at my brother as he approached and he kept his mouth shut. I was about to say something, when I noticed someone trailing behind Osamu. Kimiko reached forward and clutched on to my brother's arm while she looked behind her shoulder. She had always been afraid of the dark... but that wasn't the point at the moment. Why would she be anywhere near Osamu? She, like myself, had been ignored by these boys most of her life.

"Iroh, what the hell? I turn around for one minute and you're gone. You are officially the worst wing man ever."

"From the looks of it, you weren't in need of a wing-man." Iroh shrugged his shoulders at Osamu like it was no big deal. I knew for a fact that Iroh had been put through endless nights of 'wing-manning' for Osamu, he must have been tired of it by now.

"Yeah, well, I might not have needed a wing-man, but I sure as hell needed some back up."

Kimi let go of Osamu's arm then gave me the oddest look I'd ever seen on her face. I don't know what it was about it, but it made my stomach drop. She looked exasperrated even if the darkness was covering most of her face.

"What happened?" I instantly took a long stride over to her. She frowned at me, then looked up at Osamu for some help.

"The creep she was with got a little too frisky for her liking. When she told him to stop and he didn't, I had to intervene."

My eyes traveled over to my brother. It was so unlike him to come to anyone's defense. I suppose he had learned a thing or two at the training camps. Still, Kimi and I never got out hopes up that my brother would come to our rescue.

"It would have been nice if someone else was there to help," Osamu pointedly looked at Iroh. "Of course, I handled it alone, but he wouldn't have tried to attack if there had been two of us."

Kimi finally looked back at me, giving me a faint smile. "He was really brave back there."

Osamu grinned at her then gave a shrug as if to show that it had been no big deal. His attention, once off Kimi, turned to Iroh. "What are you two doing up here together?"

"We weren't up here together. I was looking around the place, I just found your sister here."

I didn't dare look his direction. First of all, the fact that he had not looked my way since my brother arrived sort of hurt my feeling. And if he didn't want to admit to what had happened, no matter how insignificant, then I wouldn't be the fool who would.

"I was waiting for someone else, if you must know." My voice must have sounded irritated because Osamu looked surprised. Or maybe it was because his little sister had just told him she was planning on doing what kids did here. "It's none of your business, actually."

I hated having an attitude, it was really one of my worst qualities. Besides being extremely sensitive, I was easily irritated. Osamu didn't ask any more questions for now, but the subject was sure to be brought up later on.

"It's getting late," he turned to Kimi, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll walk you home, just in case. Uh, Iroh... do you mind walking Akemi home. I would feel so much better knowing that she's not going to stay here to meet with... whoever."

"I think I can take care of myself, thank you." I interrupted before Iroh could get one word out of his mouth.

"I'll make sure she's okay," Iroh nodded at Osamu. My brother and Kimiko left right after that, not saying anything more to anyone. I rolled my eyes at the backs then waited a few seconds before following them. I could hear Iroh's footsteps behind me and it was starting to piss me off.

Kimi and Osamu had found their way out of the house earlier than I did, though Iroh had offer no direction. In fact, he didn't even say anything to me. But he was there. Oh, he was. The sound of his steps were driving me insane, especially as we walked down the hill. The sound of the branches and rocks beneath his feet were almost too much to handle. I thanked the spirits when we reached the sand.

By now, the party goers had dwindled down in size. No one was in the water now, most of the people left were huddled against the bonfire. Every now and then, as we got further away, I could faintly hear a laugh coming from their direction. The walk to my family's summer home took almost five minutes. Five WHOLE minutes of absolute, torturous silence.

When we reached my destination, I had to walk around to the side of the house. My window was propped open as I had left it. I began to climb on when I felt Iroh's hand on my shoulder. He stopped me from getting inside and let out an exasperated sight.

"I hope you didn't take offense to what I said back there."

I managed to get my feet down on the ground safely before I turned to face him. "Oh, you mean when you denied being there with me?"

Iroh ran a hand through his dark locks of hair and offered me an apologetic smile. "What was I supposed to tell him? 'Hey, your sister just kissed me'?"

"What?" I held up a hand to stop him from going on. "I'm sorry, I didn't kiss you. You're the one who leaned in first."

"Actually, I was trying to light th-"

"No, you had already done that when you went in for it, mister." I couldn't believe him. We were both there. I knew what happened, he knew what happened. So why was he trying to change the story?

"I just touched you cheek," he nervously laughed. "You shivered when I set the candle on."

"You know what? Let's just forget this ever happened, since you already seem to be having trouble remembering what happened. Prince Iroh, I believe were are done here." I huffed and pulled myself up to my windowsill. Iroh looked amused by this point, he obviously found this funny. I was about to close the shutters when I realized my left hand was strained for clutching on to something. The stupid, freaking candle was still in my grip. I stuck my head out the window and aimed it at his direction. "That's yours." I shut the window and didn't bother to check whether or not he had even caught it.


	4. Guys' Night

The sun was filling up the room as I woke up the next noon. After I had thrown the candle at Iroh, I had laid in bed fuming over the events. I wasn't able to close my eyes until dawn started to break. I ignored my mother when she came in several hours later, urging me to get up. She gave up, eventually, and I fell into a deep slumber. As I sat up, my head ached and my body felt sweaty. Groggy as I felt, I dragged myself out of bed and to the kitchen.

"You really should have stayed in bed," Osamu commented as soon as he saw me. He popped a fire gummy in his mouth. "I wouldn't let anyone see me that like if I were you."

I completely ignored him, dealing with my brother right after waking up was not in my bucket list today. It was too late for breakfast now and lunch wasn't prepared yet, so I just had some watermelon juice and a mochi. After that, the day was rather uneventful. I took my bath, I ate lunch with the family, sat around the living room. Kimi showed up right before dinner to let me know that she wasn't going to be able to go down to the beach with me that night. Apparently her parents were making her go to the Ember Island Theater. I assured her it was more than fine when she apologized for the hundredth time. My parents were also attending the show. They had bought tickets to The Metal-bender as soon as we had arrived at Ember Island.

"See ya!" My parents had barely left when Osamu had one foot out the door. He stood at the door looking at me with a look full of pity for a few seconds. "I know I told them I would stay here with you but... I made plans with Iroh and the guys. So... you'll be fine...?"

I rolled my eyes at him and walked away. Osamu didn't hesitate and left the house in a hurry. Had my life really come to this? Sitting in the living room by myself on a summer night? I would have much rather be back at school at that moment, at least I would be alone.

Get up, I told myself an hour after I had been abandoned. Sure, Ember Island didn't have many means of entertainment for teens at night. But I could find something to do. I could go to the arcade... yeah, that was the best I could come up with on short notice. I left the house in minutes, I didn't even have to think about it twice. The arcade wasn't far from where I was and I really needed some fresh air anyway. As I walked, I began to regret coming outside. Left and right, couples were everywhere. I felt like I was the only person alone. I picked up the pace, feeling self-conscious.

The arcade was packed when I arrived. The Street Bender booth had a crowd around it with kids cheering and booing as a pair of guys took their turn. I watched as the game progressed, but there was no way I would be playing.

"I'm surprised your brother actually let you come out tonight."

The goosebumps immediately ran up through my body and I turned to face Iroh. He had a friendly smile plastered all over his pretty face. I wasn't impressed. I didn't bother answering him. I flipped my hair and began to walk to another game, but he was a step behind me.

"You're really upset?" he asked, reaching over to touch my shoulder. "Listen, last night... it was all really sudden and... I mean, you're my friend's sister. I didn't realize you even had any sort of feeling for me."

"Don't flatter yourself," I faced him once more. "And like I said, we're done talking about that... or anything else for that matter."

Iroh's smile faded as soon as I said that. I don't know why. We weren't really friends to begin with. We had known each other for years, but we had little to no interaction over that course of time. Not talking to each other wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary by this point.

"I actually enjoyed talking to you last night, I was hoping we could talk again sometime." Iroh tried to smile again. "It was really pleasant."

"I'm certain you'll find another pleasant girl here. One who isn't your friend's sister. I know how much of an inconvenience that is to you."

"Oh, come on, I'm trying really hard here." Iroh took a step toward me and held his hands up to show me that he wasn't trying anything funny. "I know it was an idiot move of me to say that we weren't there together. Just let me make it up to you. One game?"

"I'm not fond of games," I replied. I wasn't trying to be difficult, I was just being honest. I sucked at them and I didn't like the attention and crowds they brought.

"Alright, how about I treat you to some flaming fire flakes? It's the least you can do after throwing that candle at my head." He offered his arm and nodded over to a stand no more than ten feet away from where we were. I gave in, but didn't touch his arm. I didn't want anymore physical contact with him.

I stood around with my arms crossed as Iroh bought to bags full of them. That was a waste of food and money, I never could finish one by myself. He returned with the two bags and a cup of juice for me. We took a seat on a nearby bench and watched as other kids ran around the place. If we had been a quieter place, I bet the only noise someone could hear would be the crunch our snack made as me consumed it. Iroh didn't seem to want to push my buttons by making any conversation. So as I set my fire flakes bag in between us, I decided to initiate the conversation.

"Are you going back to your friends soon?"

Iroh stopped eating and shot me a very confused look. He placed his bag down as well, then swallowed what he had been chewing on. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you here with the guys?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No. Why would you think that I was?"

"Osamu said..." I trailed off, wanting to think about this. Osamu had said he was going out with Iroh and the guys tonight. Hadn't he? Why would he say that if it wasn't true? I stood up, offering Iroh a hand, which might had looked silly. A tiny sixteen year old girl trying to get a sturdy nineteen year old to get up. He took my hand, though I could tell by his expression that he wasn't sure what was going on.

"I don't know what he said to you, I haven't seen him since last night."

Our hands stayed connected for about thirty more seconds before I caught myself and pulled it back. "What is he up to?"

"Maybe he is with the guys? I didn't realize they were planning anything tonight. Ryuu was taking his girlfriend to see the play tonight and Taro is stuck at home with food poisening."

There was something about what he had said that caught my attention, but I couldn't put my finger on what it could have been. "No, he was lying."

"Why would he lie?" Iroh seemed just as curious as I did now and he brought a hand up to his chin, trying to think of a good reason.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out what he's so desperately trying to hide."

I looked around for a few seconds, almost certain I catch Osamu doing something here. No such luck. My feet started to move, then stopped when I looked over my shoulder at Iroh. "Well, are you going to stand there or are you going to help me find out?"

Iroh looked surprised at my offer, "I thought you didn't want to do anything with me."

"I don't," I replied, shrugging at him. "But if he's up to something, I'm going to need someone to help me."

"Alright," Iroh caught up to me, then leaned down to playfully wag a finger at my face. "As long as you don't throw more things at me."

"I'll try no to... unless you really deserve it?" We kept walking while talking this time. I could finally let myself relax with him next to me. The events from the previous night were pushed to the back of my mind. Maybe we could be friends and we could move past that.

"I can actually live with that. I'll need someone to keep me in check."

The sand beneath out feet made our search for Osamu longer than it would if we had been walking on firm ground. We tried to be sneaky as we looked. Osamu wasn't stupid, he wouldn't be out in the open and he would try to do whatever he was doing in private. Now that I thought about it, perhaps looking for him wasn't a good idea.

"Uh... what if he's... you know, with someone?" I finally asked as the abandoned house caught my attention in the distant. Iroh looked uncomfortable at the thought of finding my brother in such a predicament.

"I don't think I want to catch him doing that."

"Yeah, same here," I answered. I stopped walking at that moment and took a seat on the sand. Iroh joined me right away and we both turned our attention to the waves washing up the shore. Not far from where we sat, another couple was doing the same. The young man's wavy black hair had a familiar look, it almost reminded me of how my father's hair got in the summer. My mother loved to tease him about how she wished she had his hair.

As I watched the back of them, something kept me from looking over at Iroh. He had placed and arm behind me, though very carefully made sure not to touch any part of my body. The young man's actions mirrored that of Iroh's no more than a minute later, but he reached around the girl to touch her arm. He pulled her closer to him. Iroh was just placing his hand on my shoulder about to do the same, when the couple turned to face each other. They were about to kiss when the realization hit me, right at the the same second that I felt Iroh's had make contact with my arm.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, bringing up a hand to cover my mouth.

"Uh, sorry," Iroh replied, most likely think I had reacted to his touch. I turned to face him, showing him how stunned I was, without saying another word, I pointed at the couple kissing in front of us. Iroh's expression mimicked mine as soon as he saw what I was referring to. There he was; Osamu was the young man. That wasn't exactly what had us staring. No, we expected Osamu to be doing something like this. We just didn't expect Kimi to be the one swapping spit with him.


	5. Here's A Plan

What was the world coming to? As both Iroh and I sat there in stunned silence, Kimi and Osamu kept up with their kissing. When it stopped, she leaned in to say something to him. We were too far away to hear. Osamu started to get up, though he had not noticed us yet. Iroh quickly got on his feet and pulled me up with him. He motioned me to follow him, it was time we took our leave. I didn't look back, I didn't want them to know that we had just witnessed their moment. I ran along side Iroh, until we reached my house. When we stopped by my porch, I doubled over in laughter. It wasn't funny, at all, but I couldn't stop myself from doing it.

"What just happened?" I asked, calming and stopping my laugh. I placed a hand over my head, trying to make sense of what exactly had happened. Iroh just watched me, but he wasn't laughing. Probably because he wasn't a teenage girl who laughed when she witnessed her best friend and brother kissing. Then again, Iroh didn't have a brother, so he couldn't judge. "I don't even know what to think right now."

"That was unexpected," Iroh took a seat on the first step of the porch and he smiled, shaking his head up at me.

I sat right next to him, but my attention was directed to the beach a few yards away. Kimiko had lied to me, too. I mean, lying was expected of Osamu, but Kimi and I basically shared our secrets together. There was no previous knowledge of her even liking Osamu. And Osamu usually acted as if she didn't exist. Not only that, but the type of girl he tended to go for was the complete opposite of Kimi. He dated sleazy, loud, airheads and Kimi was so reserved and intelligent. Apparently not intelligent enough to stay away from Osamu.

"I don't see this ending well," I spoke up again, this time looking at Iroh. He raised his eyebrow, almost asking me to explain. "You know Osamu, he doesn't give a crap about girls' feelings and he only uses them for his own pleasure."

"I think you maybe you need to give him some credit."

"Of course, you say that because he's your friend."

"No.. well, yes, but think about it." Iroh turned his body toward mine, in the similar way he had done the previous night before we kissed. "You're judging him as if he were a seventeen year old again, he's twenty now. He's changed some of his way since we joined the Forces. And from what I can tell, Kimiko is more than capable of figuring out what his real intentions are."

"Hey, don't turn this on my best friend when yours-" I stopped mid-sentence when I heard someone yell Osamu's name. It was the voice of Taro, our neighbor, who had (according to Iroh) been stuck at home with food poisoning. Taro wasn't visible from where we were and his foot steps didn't seem to be coming our way. Osamu's voice came from somewhere near Taro's voice and I stood up, on my tip toes, looking over the rocks that separated our houses. From were I was standing, all I could see was Taro on his porch and the top of my brother's head. Kimi was nowhere in sight. I jumped off the porch step, pulled Iroh up, and made a break for the side of the house.

"She's not with him," I explained, reaching up to pull my window open. Iroh beat me to it and without much effort it was open. I smiled, thanking him for it. I didn't make a move to climb in yet, my mind was reeling with ideas. "I want you to come back tonight, soon."

It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Iroh's cheeks seemed to have flushed when I told him to come back later.

"I mean, not through my window..." My cheeks were bright red now, when I realized how that must have sounded to him. "Kimi said she was going to swing by after the play. The one she didn't see, obviously. They're going to admit to this, whether I have to trick them into it or not."

The front door was slammed, in a very Osamu fashion, after I had been in my room for ten minutes. I watched as Iroh moved around the side of the house, then heard someone in the hallway.

I quietly opened the door and stuck my head out. I called out in the most innocent way possible, "Osamu, is that you?"

"In here," he responded from his room at the end of the hall. I slowly walked to it, trying to think of something to say. I wasn't going to come right out accusing him, I wanted to know how stupid he thought I really was.

"So," I said, staying at the entrance of his room. "How was the night with the guys?"

Osamu was on the edge of his bed, turning the dial on the wireless radio our parents had just given him. "It was fine."

"Where did you go?"

He stopped messing with the radio and looked at me with a blank stare. "What's with all the questions?"

"Oh, nothing," I held my hands up in defense. "I was just trying to live through you, I was stuck here all night. You know what's funny, though? When I was sitting outside for a few minutes, I kept hearing this horrible gagging noise coming from next door. Did Taro say anything to you about it? Do you think his mom is okay? Hm, I guess I'll go check on her and Taro's sister tomorrow just ask to make sure."

"You do that, Akemi."

"Oh, I will."

I smiled sweetly then turned away, merrily walking down the hallway. Just when I was about to go into my room, I heard someone at the door. It had to be Kimi, it just had to. Iroh was planning on waiting for her to come inside first before he arrived.


	6. Web Of Lies

"Get the door!" Osamu's yell boomed outside my room. I had ran inside my room when I had heard the knocking, I wasn't going to be the one opening the door for Kimi.

"Oh, I'm kind of busy."

Osamu mumbled something, but I heard him dragging his feet toward the entrance of the house. I waited a few seconds before leaving my room and following him. I arrived at the door just as he was opening it and instead of greeting Kimi, I looked at my brother for a reaction. He didn't do much other than greet her. Of course he knew she was coming, she probably told him in between their make out session.

"Hey, Kimi," I greeted her as cheerfully as I could. She smiled at me, but her eyes lingered on my brother. I invited her to come inside and lead her to the living room. "How was the play?"

"Oh, it was interesting," her response was as generic as it could get. How could she anything other than that when she didn't even attend the play? I nodded at her, like I completely knew what she meant by interesting. Just as we were about to sit down, there was another knock at the door.

I called out to Osamu, who was on his way to his room, "Can you get that?"

He wasn't happy, but obliged. I honestly had expected him to ignore me. Kimi started talking about something, but I wasn't paying attention to her at the moment. I listened as Osamu opened the door and he seemed very surprised to see Iroh standing there.

"Oh... what are you doing here?" Osamu asked, glancing back at us. Iroh's response was unheard by me, thanks to Kimi's rambling. She tended to do when she was nervous or upset. I stood up, which forced Kimi to finally realize someone else had arrived.

"Iroh, hi," I acted surprised to see him standing by the door. Osamu closed the door behind Iroh and motioned him to follow him to the hallway. "What are you doing here? Don't you two spend enough time together as it is? I mean, you did spend the whole evening together, didn't you?"

"I was at home most of the night."

Osamu's eyes darted to Iroh, clearly wanting to catch his attention. That was why he had wanted to see him in the hallway, so he could ask him to lie. Before my brother could force Iroh to move from where they were, I walked over to them. "Why don't you sit down for a minute? Kimi was just about to tell me about the play she just went to see. Weren't you, Kimi?"

"Well..." Kimi's hands intertwined as she looked down at her lap. I could feel my brother getting anxious, he kept glancing at Iroh for some assistance, but that was too late. Iroh's alliance in this had been decided earlier tonight.

"I'm sure she had a great time, but we don't have time for this," Osamu started to move. However, Iroh's way was the opposite of Osamu's. He was already walking over to where Kimi was sitting.

"Actually, I'd like to hear about it. I have tickets to see it tomorrow night and if it's not great, I'd rather give them away to someone who appreciates the art of acting. " He sat down, too. I happily sat between the two of them, Iroh and I looked at Kimi with a 'Do go on' look on our faces.

This was all going according to plan, thanks to Kimi's predictability. She was never good under pressure, there was bound to be an outburst soon. I watched her silently as she tried to come up with something in her mind, her eyes darting around the floor. I was most likely to worst best friend, ever. A good person would have put her out of her misery by giving up. But dammit, she was going to tell me! I would have told her about Iroh and the kiss. If she had just given me a chance to do it. I really would have... right? Yeah, definitely.

"So...?" I urged her to go on, because apparently, I am a horrible friend.

"The acting was horrible, as always. You'd think they would change troupe members to improve it. However, the plot was innovative."

She had done research, big deal. Anyone could ask around, the Metal Bender was one of the most popular plays on Ember Island. Kimi was good, more than I had expected her to be. She was ready for this. It was Osamu's turn. I turned to Iroh now.

"Anyway, weren't you invited to join the guys' night?"

"Why, no, I wasn't." Iroh raised his eyebrows at Osamu, wanting an explanation for this. By now, Osamu must have realized that Iroh was not going to be complacent and he was not going to help him at all. He shrugged, waving it off with his hand.

"I thought the Prince of the Fire Nation would have better things to do than go to the arcade."

"How thoughtful of you, dear brother." I rolled my eyes at him, getting irritated by how long this was taking.

"Who went out tonight? Didn't Ryuu take his girlfriend to the play tonight? And Taro just told me that he's been home sick all day."

"Some people I met at the party last night." Osamu didn't look amused at all the pressure Iroh and I were putting on his lies. He was used to lying and never being called out on it.

"I'll bet," I whispered to Kimi. I stood up again going over to my brother. "I hope you don't mind, Osamu, but I went out tonight. It was only for a few minutes. And while I was taking a stroll on the beach, I stumbled across a very peculiar sight."

Kimi's body sat straight up and she shared a look with Osamu. Oh, they knew where I was going with this.

"I, too, took a walk this evening, Akemi." Iroh nodded at my little story. "And I saw something out of the ordinary on the beach."

"Really, Iroh?" I feigned shock while placing my hands on my hips. My head tilted to the side a bit. "Do you mind sharing with the rest of us what you witnessed tonight? Wouldn't it be funny if it were the same thing I saw?"

"That would be funny, indeed. But why don't you tell us what you saw? Ladies first."

"You are such a gentleman, I would love to share what I saw." I walked in front of Osamu and slowly circled around the couch. "I saw a pair of liars."

Kimi sort of let out a strained gasp and Osamu's hands turned to fists. Iroh didn't add to this, they knew he had seen it too. I thought I'd feel very satisfied at catching them in their web of lies, but the look Kimi gave me wasn't good. Her expressions were a mixture of shock and hurt, a look my best friend had never given to me. She slowly shook her head and stood up. Osamu immediately moved around the catch to place an arm around her.

"What is wrong with you?" Osamu wasn't looking at me, his glare was on Iroh. My brother's look was more extreme than Kimi's. He was shocked, but not hurt, no, he was pissed. "That was supposed to be a private moment."

"Why did you have to lie?" I asked, stepping in between Iroh and Osamu. "How long did you think we were going to go on without finding out?"

"Stay out of this, Akemi, what I do with my life is none of your business."

"It is when your business is playing with my best friend's feelings."

I felt Iroh stand up behind me, he placed his hand on my shoulder stopping me from going to Osamu.

"You don't even know what you're talking about anymore," Osamu lead Kimi out of the house after shaking his head at both of us. Things had escalated quickly, to say the least.

"I'm think that wasn't the best way to handle it now..." Iroh removed his hand from my shoulder and when I turned to face him, he looked really uncomfortable.

As much as I hated to admit it, I could have gone a different way when handling this situation. I knew the moment Kimi gave me that look that I had hurt her feelings. As her best friend, I was supposed to be there for her, not attack her because of her dating choices.

"Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing, too."


	7. Note To Self

So that was it, in the span of two nights, I had lost my best friend. To my brother. Sure, Iroh lost his best friend, but they still had months, years even, of training in the Forces together. They were sure to make up. However, Kimi had never been mad at me before. I might have been some-what bossy, but I had never meddled in her love life. I was usually there for support, never taking action. She, in turn, had respected my dating actions and decisions all these years. Somehow, I thought catching them in the act of lying was going to go over well. Note to self: People don't appreciate when you catch them lying. Or being tricked into confessing.

The next week was torture for me. Osamu, who usually made a snide remark about me during meals, was now acting as if I didn't exist. Our parents took notice, but they didn't like to get involved in our sibling problems, unless it got violent. That has never happened, actually. Mom tried to make everything better by announcing that we all had a very special surprise arriving in a few days. I didn't make a comment, Osamu didn't make a comment. Mom pouted a bit, disappointed that we weren't badgering or trying to figure out her surprise to us.

On Thursday, I was forced to attend a mother-daughter knitting club with mom. I never realized until that moment, but she and her friends often had clubs about things that they weren't exceedingly interested in. My parents' friends were all in the same line of work as my father, politicians or military personnel. The wives tended to drag their kids to the most boring meetings in the world. That's how Kimiko and I ended up in the same room that Thursday. While at these club meetings, we would always sit together and giggle at how bad our mothers were at knitting, yet their attempts were lovable and we really hoped they would someday be able to knit a sweater. But Kimi sat by her mother all night, her gaze on her lap. That was my only contact with Kimi.

As for Iroh, he had come to my window just once after the incident, but we only talked for a minute or two. I saw him by the shore with Taro the Friday after the knitting nightmare. I didn't move from my porch, which prompted Taro to ask why I had not joined them. Well, first of all... was I all of the sudden not invisible to the lot of them? They expected me to approach them, after years of being ignored? No, thanks. But Taro had at least been pleasant for the most part of those years. He had a sister who was only a year younger than me and he was always pushing for us to be friends. She's was kind of stuck up, though. Maybe if I could look past that... maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be stuck inside the house all summer. But, it was really hard to look past her bad attitude.

That was literally my week, right there. Sitting by the porch and watching everyone run around the sand. I had just taken a bath, and was brushing my hair, when I heard a knock at my window. I immediately put my brush down and I jumped off the bed. When I peeked out, Iroh was looking up at me.

"Do you want to take a walk?"

I slowly nodded at him. He patiently waited as I put on some shoes then climbed down the window. My parents had gone to bed and they were not going to be looking in my room anytime soon. I didn't realize in how much need of some fresh air I had been until we started walking. We made small talk for a while, dancing around the subject of Osamu and Kimiko, but it was brought up after a while.

"Is Kimiko still not talking to you?"

"No," I replied, definitely not wanting to talk about it. "I'm not sure how to go about this anymore... it's not as if she's giving me a chance to apologize."

"If she doesn't want to talk, she should at least hear you out."

"Do I just show up at her house and say, 'you listen to what I have to say, or else'?"

Iroh found that funny, for some reason and he shook his head. "Maybe you shouldn't make it sound like a threat, but what is she going to do, plug her ears? I say go talk to her."

When we stopped, we were no more than three houses away from Kimi's and I could make out her figure on the porch. "You're sneaky," I said, glancing over at him.

"Or I'm just trying to fix the mess we made."


	8. Embrace Change

I stood with Iroh, in silence, for a minute or two. While I watched Kimi from a distance, I felt like my stomach dropped. I was waiting for my feet to start moving, but they didn't. I must have looked helpless, because Iroh placed a hand on my shoulder. I immediately turned to face him.

"You don't have to, of course," he said, giving me another smile.

I shook my head at him, letting him know that I did have to do this. This was good, that he was trying to fix things, because I wouldn't have the courage to have taken the initiative. I would have spent the rest of the summer curled up in my couch, waiting for my friendship with Kimiko to fix itself. I took one step forward, Iroh let his hand drop to his side.

"I'll be waiting here," I heard him say as I made my way to Kimi's house, but I was too nervous to respond to that.

She was sitting on the porch, as I expected. Her legs were slowly swinging with the wind, her attention was in the distance, watching the waves hit the shore. I had the thought to just turn around before she saw me, but I took a deep breath. I made my presence be known by giving her a small, 'hi'. Kimiko's attention snapped back to the porch and she turned her face to the side. Her eyes quickly darted away from me.

"Hi." That was all she said, as quietly as possible.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" I asked, feeling like I was interrupting her alone time.

"I thought you were mad at me," she replied, her eyes looking at me once more, but she wouldn't look me in the eyes. Her shoulders sort of slumped over as she said that.

"What?" I was absolutely confused by that. Why would I be mad at her? She was mad at me. "I'm not mad that I made you upset, I'm sorry more than anything."

"You're not mad at me?" she asked, finally making eye contact.

"No, but I can understand why you're mad at me. Listen, I shouldn't have-"

"I'm not," she cut me off, sitting up straight. She looked as confused as I felt now. "I'm not mad at you, at all."

"But you weren't talking to me, so I figured..."

"You weren't talking to me. I didn't want to make you more upset than you already were. I shouldn't have lied to you, but I didn't know what to tell you. I mean, Osamu and I only kissed that one time and the whole thing was just spur of the moment... the date, I mean, because I kind of knew the kiss was coming by the time we were at the beach. And I can't say that I regret it and I should apologize for that maybe?"

"That's crazy. Why would you apologize for that?" I asked, finally sitting down next to her. "I overreacted, so I'm the only who should be apologizing. Also, dragging Iroh into it probably was not the best choice I've made this whole time. Especially since Iroh and I kind of kissed the night before, that kind of makes us hypocrites, right?"

"What?" she exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth. Her parents were already asleep, she didn't want to wake them, I figured. "You kissed?"

"Ugh, see! This is why I need you, who else is going to gossip with me?" I smiled at her, feeling at ease now. She scooted closer to me and I knew our fight had dissolved now. She was urging me to go on. "It wasn't a big deal, we're past it now, but yes, it happened. Right before you and Osamu came barging in."

She made a face then smiled, too. "I'm sorry we ruined your romantic, magical moment, but I was being assaulted, you know."

"It wasn't a romantic, magical moment. It was just one kiss. Like I said, we're over it."

"Are you sure?" she raised her eyebrow at me. "I mean, this is Iroh we're talking about. Crown Prince of the Almighty Fire Nation. Girls practically fight each other to catch his attention."

It wasn't really at all like that. Sure, Iroh was the Prince, but girls didn't fight over him. At least not fist fight. He was polite and didn't pay much attention when girls were fussing over him. Therefore, girls learned fast that if they were going to catch his attention, making a big deal out of his existence was not the way to go.

"I'm sure, Kimi."

"Hmm," Kimi nodded, but I could tell that she was still doubting.

I changed the subject before she could ask anything else. "So you and my brother... are you two past that or...?"

She looked off at the shore again, staying quiet for a moment. Kimi sighed and turned to me, "I really like him."

I couldn't pretend to understand what she could possibly like about that jerk, but I smiled at her and nodded. I had to put my reservations about them together aside, if she truly felt that way. Maybe it was just a summer fling... or it could last forever. Whatever the case was, I couldn't be the person to pull them apart. Some part of me, I had to admit, was glad that Osamu wasn't going for the typical kind of girl he did. If anything, Kimi would be able to change his ways, even just a bit.

We talked for a while longer. She caught me up on her last week and I found out that it had been just as uneventful as mine. I thought that she had been out and about with Osamu this whole time, but he only visited her in the evenings and talked for a short amount of time. She assured me that it had been her choice, since she had been feeling guilty for it. From now on, I told her to not feel guilty and to just try to make my brother into a decent human being. Our chat ended when Kimi decided it was time for her to go to bed.

Iroh was leaning against a rock when I started to walk away. I had somehow forgotten that he was there. Well, it was more like I had thought the had wasn't going to be there anymore. It did take me by surprise to see him there, even though he had told me he would be.

"How did it go?" Iroh asked, pushing himself off the rock.

"You're still here," I said, not answering his question.

His eyebrows furrowed. "I said I would be, didn't I?"

"Yes," I said, stopping near him. "I didn't think you would wait this long."

"I stick to what I say."

"It went well," I finally answered him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Thanks, for bringing me here tonight."

"I'm glad you settled this. Now everything can go back to normal around this place."

I shrugged when he said that. "I don't think so. It's never going to go back to normal, but that's fine. I'm not going to stop them from being together. I suppose this is just a new chapter."

"I would say so," he replied. "It can't be that bad. We need to embrace change."

Iroh walked me home after that. I was getting used to this by now. I hadn't been out of the house and walks were not the normal for me this summer. But it seemed that every time I went outside, Iroh and I would end up on a walk.

I was climbing up the porch steps and I could feel him behind me. I didn't know if I should thank him again, for pushing me to work things out with Kimiko. I felt that I needed to say something again, a thank you. My hand was on the door, I was about to turn around to thank him, when I felt his hand wrap around my arm. Iroh gently turned me to face him, I wasn't sure what was going on now. My eyes were glued to his gaze. He did that thing again, as if he were searching for something in my eyes. What was he looking for? I don't know. I didn't get the chance to ask him, because he broke the distance between us and placed his lips on mine. I felt the goosebumps rising on my arms, then all over my body. We both closed our eyes and I let my hand rest on his chest. Kimi was right, I wasn't past this.

And Iroh was right. We needed to embrace change.


End file.
